Healio introduces Women in Allergy, esteemed Peer Perspective Board
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Key takeaways:
- Women in Allergy aims to empower, inspire and engage with women allergists and celebrate their accomplishments.
- The content will share insights and research advances into women’s health.
Healio has launched Women in Allergy, an initiative that aims to advance the work of women in allergy by providing insights for overcoming challenges and assistance in achieving better health care.
With Priya J. Bansal, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, serving as consulting medical editor, Women in Allergy aims to provide content for the growing proportion of women allergists and immunologists. Whereas women comprised only 25% of the field in 2004, data from Sharma and colleagues showed that, in 2022, 66% of fellows-in-training in allergy and immunology were women.
“Women in allergy and immunology are a rapidly growing population with unique needs and challenges,” Bansal told Healio. “I partnered with Healio to advance this initiative to showcase women’s successes in research and practice advancement, highlight issues such as career development and advancement hurdles for women, and feature articles on women’s health.”
As the impact of women on the field expands, so does understanding of the barriers they face.
For instance, women in allergy have historically been underrepresented in leadership positions, with data from Blumenthal and colleagues showing that 73 of 79 presidents of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology have been men. Survey data from AAAAI also revealed that men comprised 63% of academic allergy/immunology leadership roles in the U.S.
Moreover, this increase in women physicians also draws greater attention to the needs of the women patients whom they treat. Specifically, women by and large are more likely to suffer from allergies and asthma but experience different outcomes than men, with specific treatment needs during pregnancy and menopause.
Healio’s Women in Allergy aims to empower, inspire and engage with women allergists; share insights and research advances into women’s health; and celebrate the accomplishments of women in the field.
Under the leadership of Bansal, our Peer Perspective Board Members include:
Bansal is an allergist and immunologist at the Asthma and Allergy Wellness Center in Saint Charles, Illinois, and a faculty member at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine. She is vice chair of the Office of Practice Management and past chair of the AAAAI Practice Management Committee and a member of the AAAAI and American Board of Allergy and Immunology Board of Directors. She also serves as a state delegate for the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology House of Delegates and on the ACAAI Practice Management Committee.
Theresa A. Bingemann, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, is associate professor in the departments of medicine, allergy/immunology and rheumatology and pediatrics, pediatrics allergy/immunology at University of Rochester Medical Center, in addition to serving as program director for the allergy and immunology fellowship training program.
Luz S. Fonacier, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, is past president of the ACAAI, having served as its fourth woman and first Asian American president. She also is a professor of medicine at NYU Long Island School of Medicine.
Meera R. Gupta, MD, FAAAAI, is associate professor in the department of pediatrics and director of the allergy/immunology fellowship training program in the division of immunology, allergy and retrovirology at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine.
Payel Gupta, MD, FACAAI, is owner of Ease Allergy in Brooklyn, N.Y., medical director of allergy, asthma, immunology and ENT at LifeMD.com, podcast co-host for The Itch Podcast, and volunteer national spokesperson for the American Lung Association.
Vivian Hernandez-Trujillo, MD, is clinical professor of pediatrics at Herbert Wertheim School of Medicine of Florida International University, founder of the Allergy and Immunology Care Center of South Florida, and division director of allergy and immunology and fellowship training program director, allergy and immunology at Nicklaus Children's Hospital.
Jennifer Namazy, MD, is clinical professor of medicine in the division of allergy and immunology at Scripps Clinic Medical Group.
Andrea Pappalardo, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, is associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at University of Illinois College of Medicine and allergy service director in the division of pulmonary, critical care, sleep and allergy. She is also the asthma medical director in the Coordination of Healthcare for Complex Kids program, in which she focuses on health disparities in asthma.
Melinda M. Rathkopf, MD, MBA, is a pediatric allergist/immunologist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and associate professor of pediatrics in the division of allergy and immunology at Emory University School of Medicine.
Email the editor at WomeninAllergy@healio.com if you would like to participate.
References:
- Blumenthal KG, et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2023;doi:10.1016/j.jaip.2023.06.010.
- Sharma H, et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2022;doi:10.1016/j.jaip.2022.08.037.